


SS Drabbles 2017

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 05:08:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13228716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: There are seven very short stories here written for the Secret Santa 'drabble days'holly, snowman, cookies, Mrs Claus, solstice, gift, family/friends





	SS Drabbles 2017

SS Drabbles 2017

by Bluewolf

 

**Christmas in November**

 

Blair pulled into his usual parking space at Rainier, and headed into Hargrove Hall and along the corridor to his 'office', noting as he went the holly branch fastened to each door he passed, his heart sinking the further along the corridor he went. When he reached Artifact Storage Room 3 he gave a long, resigned sigh.

Yes, there was a holly branch fastened to it, too. Not that he had expected anything else.

He was tempted to remove it, at least until December - certainly by the time they were halfway through November it was winter, but really - decorating five whole weeks before Christmas? Though many of the stores had already been pushing Christmas for several weeks... And why decorate here, anyway? There would be nobody in the building over Christmas except possibly maintenance and security staff - everyone else would be on holiday! And one of the cleaning staff would have the job of taking it all down again before classes restarted in January.

Though that probably explained why the decoration was a branch of holly. Easy to put up, easy to take down. As if somebody among TPTB was paying lip service to the season rather than trying to celebrate it fully. And whoever had ordered it done would react badly to any member of staff - especially lowly TAs - who did remove it, even temporarily.

And - he peered closely at the holly - why destroy living plants to do that? Why not get some artificial holly that would serve the purpose just as well? And be reusable...

He went on into the room, glad that the decoration was only on the outside of the door; nobody had tried to decorate the interior - and sank into his chair. He liked the Christmas season - he did. He enjoyed going to Rainier's annual carol evening. He enjoyed shopping for gifts, trying to select something appropriate for the recipient - and, he had to admit, it was easier doing that early, when there was a better selection of things and the shops weren't as busy. And in Christmas week itself he enjoyed the lights and decorations - but not in November! Even though they did brighten the

No sun - no moon!

No morn - no noon -

No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day...

November!

of poet Thomas Hood.

He took a deep breath. It happened every year, after all. But he wished - oh, how he wished - that some kind of legislation could be passed to prevent people putting up decorations before December 15 at the earliest!

***

**Fun in the Snow**

 

It was their last guaranteed weekend off of the year.

Both Jim and Blair liked to get away from Cascade on their guaranteed weekends off - the half dozen weekends when, short of a nuclear attack, they would not be called in for an emergency. But the weather in this, the last one of the year, could not be guaranteed. In December, they were wiser to have their time away from Cascade not too far removed from it.

And so a few months earlier in the year they had bought a small cabin some twenty miles from Cascade, where they often went on the 'non-guaranteed' weekends, someplace easy to get back from if they were called for. It was  close to the edge of a small wooded area and had originally been built for a naturalist who had been studying the wild life of the area, and once he started writing up his findings he had decided to sell the cabin.

It suited Jim and Blair perfectly, especially since it was unlikely that anyone else would be given permission to build there.

They drove in on Friday night, went to bed early, and woke on Saturday to surprisingly deep snow.

Over breakfast, Blair's attention was fixed on the view outside the window.

"All right, Chief," Jim said at last. "What's on your mind? Thinking of building a snowman?"

Blair shook his head. "Everyone builds snowmen, Jim," he said. "No... I had something a little more ambitious in mind."

Breakfast finished and the dishes washed, Blair pulled on his coat and headed out. Jim delayed for roughly half an hour to give the cabin a quick clean before following. And even that short delay was enough for Blair to have accomplished a surprising amount.

Jim gazed, open-mouthed, at the street Blair was constructing out of snow. He had somehow managed to shape several houses, and placed them side by side. He had cleared enough snow from in front of them to give the appearance of gardens.

"That's... amazing," he managed.

Blair grinned. "Think you can make some more houses?" he asked.

"I can try," Jim said - he knew that he didn't have Blair's artistic flair.

While Jim worked on several slightly lop-sided houses Blair carefully made tiny snowmen to put in the 'gardens' and also one or two minute shapes that were obviously dogs.

By lunchtime they had a street made that stretched across the lawn of their cabin. Blair ran into the cabin, came back with a camera and shot several photos. "I've never tried doing anything like this before," he said, "and I think it's a success - I want a record of it."

And Jim nodded his complete agreement.

***

**Fund Raising**

 

When Jim arrived home, it was to find Blair elbow-deep in baking.

Not that that wasn't unknown; Blair enjoyed both cooking and baking. Jim, while a competent cook, only cooked from necessity, and he didn't enjoy baking at all. But although Blair enjoyed baking, it wasn't something he did very often.

"What's the occasion?" Jim asked.

"Fund raiser at Rainier," Blair replied. "I said I'd bake some cookies for it. It's to give disadvantaged children a Christmas party with Santa Claus - so they'll each get a present as well as a meal and - with luck - a lot of fun."

"So is it all baking that's for sale?" Jim asked.

"No - there'll be some craft work as well. Unfortunately it's the wrong time of year to auction services like a month of gardening, though we will be auctioning dog walking - it's amazing how much that'll raise!"

Jim grinned, knowing that even when they were conscientious about walking their dogs, a lot of people were happy to pay someone else do it.

Meanwhile Blair returned his attention to the cookies.

"Can you sell these somewhere other than your fund raiser?" Jim asked.

"Don't see why not, as long as I have some for there. What did you have in mind?"

"Major Crime," Jim said.

Blair grinned. "You want to ruin Joel's diet?"

"No harm in giving him a treat for Christmas," Jim said.

Blair's grin widened. "Well... why not? It just means a lot more disruption for you while I bake."

"Oh, I dunno - while you're baking you're not running any tests on my senses!"

"Just you wait!" Blair laughed. "I think up some of my best tests while I'm cooking or baking."

Jim groaned softly, knowing it was true. But it was all in a good cause - getting money to give disadvantaged children a party. And for that, he was willing to submit to quite a few of Blair's tests.

***

**Blair's Solution**

 

Blair was just finishing typing a lengthy report for Jim - who happened to be in court - when the phone on the desk rang. Not even Blair could have said whether his sigh as he reached for it was relief at getting a short break from the typing or frustration that he was being delayed from finishing it in the next sixty seconds.

"Detective Ellison's desk."

"Hi, Sandy, it's Megan. Can you come to the mall on 793 West Avenue - the manager's office - and bring your ingenuity box with you."

Huh? Ingenuity box? What the heck had Megan found at the mall that needed any sort of ingenuity?

"Okay - I'll need just a couple of minutes to finish this report for Jim and get it to Simon - see you in about quarter of an hour."

"Thanks, Sandy."

***

It was actually nearer twenty minutes before Blair knocked on the door of Hank Parsons, the mall manager. The door was instantly jerked open and Megan hauled him into the room. "You're late!"

"Only two or three minutes - traffic at this time of year... I'd hate to be trying to drive to an emergency life-saving situation - "

"This is an emergency, Mr. - Sandburg?" the man sitting at the desk said.

"All right," Blair said. "What's the problem?"

"Santa Claus," Parsons said. "Santa's grotto is due to open about two hours from now - but Brian Ulman, our regular Santa - he's done the job for fifteen years now - had a heart attack just after he got here this morning. I tried phoning the agency that supplies Santas to most of the stores here, and they've nobody available to help. Inspector Connor suggested that you might be able to help out. Santa's arrival is a big thing - we can't disappoint the children, Mr. Sandburg."

"I see that," Blair commented. "So - " he glanced at Megan - "what you need is someone to be Santa? Megs, you didn't think of me to do it? I'm not big enough."

"Brian isn't much bigger than you, and he's never padded out for the role," Parsons said, with a quick glance at the suit hanging on a coat stand just inside the door. "He always said a slim Santa was a good role model."

Blair thought for a minute, then smiled. "Megan," he said.

"What?" she asked when he didn't say anything more.

"A good role model... " He looked at Parsons. "Not Santa," he said. "Santa is very busy this year making toys - so his wife has come instead."

"His wife?"

"Mrs. Claus. I think Inspector Connor would fit that suit perfectly. Trousers because it's cold in Santaland... "

"But - " Megan began.

"I'm sure Simon would give you a few days off under the circumstances - just until Mr. Parsons finds someone else to be Mrs. Claus."

Parsons nodded. "It's unusual - but why not?"

"I'll explain to Simon," Blair said. "Now - time to get dressed!"

***

**Winter Solstice**

 

Naomi's religious observation was eclectic, to say the least.

Although she had a tendency to favor religions like Buddhism in its several forms, often spending weeks studying under some guru or other, and considering meditation relaxing, she had encountered Wicca and paganism quite early in her teenage rebellion against her parents' values, and found the idea of a great goddess more appealing than any god, even the Horned God of paganism. As a result she totally rejected the monotheistic religions.

And she was enthusiastic in her 'worship' of the solstices - in paticular the Winter Solstice, to the point where she often visited the southern hemisphere in June so that she could celebrate two Winter Solstices a year.

Blair had grown up to the belief that the Winter Solstice was the most important time of the year, the only thing actually worth celebrating. He had not actually gone to school until he was thirteen - Naomi had home-schooled him, and in any case since he was four he had read avidly, with a reading and interest age far in excess of his chronological age and a marked preference for non-fiction over fiction.

Before he went to school, Naomi sat down with him and carefully explained the different mid-winter celebrations, so when, in his first winter at school, he encountered Christmas, he had been prepared for it, while not completely understanding why the birth of a child should be celebrated rather than the return of the sun, the increasing length of days, Nature's guarantee of a coming summer and a harvest that would feed everyone.

It led him to read up a little on the various religions so that he began to understand the importance of Christmas to many people - but he still felt that it made more sense to celebrate the lengthening hours of daylight.

And so, while paying lip service to Christmas, helping to decorate where he was, giving (and accepting) presents on December 25th, his personal celebration was on December 21st.

But he kept that a secret, even from Jim. He had learned that outside Naomi's circle of friends, nobody would understand the importance of the solstice - especially in a world where 'seasonal' fruit could be transported thousands of miles in a matter of hours.

He was wryly amused at the thought that he had spent time in tropical regions straddling the equator where solstices and equinoxes barely existed, where there was hardly such a thing as a season; but while he lived in Cascade, where there were definite seasons, he would continue to celebrate the Winter Solstice in the privacy of his own bedroom.

***

**Secret Santa**

 

Jim looked once again at the paper in his hand, knowing that the name on it hadn't miraculously changed in the five minutes since he last looked.

'Henri Brown'.

He looked helplessly around the mall, seeking some kind of inspiration.

Megan's 'Secret Santa' idea had seemed harmless enough, easy enough, when she first suggested it on December 1st. The names of everyone in the unit - including Blair - in a bowl, each one drew a name in turn, not revealing whose name it was... and he had drawn H.

He knew what he could have given Blair. Simon. Joel. Megan. Rhonda. Rafe. Even the other detectives in the unit that he didn't know all that well. But he hadn't a clue what to buy for H.

Brown didn't smoke, as far as Jim knew the only thing he drank was water - and he couldn't give the man a gift of a bottle - or even a crate - of water! Not even as a gag gift.

Yes, a gag gift of some kind would do - but Jim couldn't think of anything inside the price limit - $10 maximum - that would yank H's chain. He drifted towards a thrift store where almost everything was priced at $5 or less and went in, hoping for inspiration.

Nothing.

Nothing, nothing and nothing.

He could have bought a dozen gifts for any other member of Major Crime... but he still saw nothing that said 'Henri Brown' to him.

Pulling his own name out of the bowl wouldn't have been as frustrating!

For about the tenth time he thought about asking Blair, who undoubtedly would have some ideas, to swap names, but not only would that be cheating, Blair had probably already bought his Secret Santa present. No, he had to find something... but he couldn't even remember what kind of snack H usually ate! Unlike most of the squad, even on poker nights he never seemed to stick with one preferred choice (until it ran out) as most of them did.

And then he saw them.

The one thing that H seemed to like above everything else was brightly coloured shirts - and on a shelf in the last aisle of the shop was a stack of dazzlingly bright floral shirts. They were priced at $9.99.

Jim searched through them. Too small... too small... too small... He was beginning to think that he had been given hope only to have it yanked away from him; and then - success! with the second last shirt.

He hurried to the checkout and paid for it.

He still had to get wrapping paper and wrap it up... but he had his Secret Santa gift.

It had just taken him three times as long as buying gifts for anyone else.

Though with luck he wouldn't draw H again next year!

***

**An Invitation for Christmas Dinner**

 

Blair looked up as Jim entered the loft, and frowned slightly when he saw the expression on Jim's face.

"Jim? What's wrong?"

"Dad." It was a flat statement.

"Is something wrong with him?"

"Not the way you mean it," Jim said wryly. "He's got this bright idea of having a Christmas party for the family."

"That's good, surely?"

"In a way... but Chief, I don't want to spend Christmas evening with the Ellison clan; I want to spend it with you. You're more family to me than any of them. Yes, they accept you as my friend - even Dad does; but he doesn't realize that you're as much a brother to me as Stephen. Not by blood, but by choice."

Blair blinked away a tear. "Jim... that's... "

"The truth, Chief. You've done so much for me since you - well, conned your way into my life. I didn't tell Dad... I'll have a word with Simon, get him to pull me onto a case on the 25th, even if he has to invent one. That'll give me a reason to skip the 'family' party and let me spend the day with my real family."

Blair swallowed. "Jim, you really should go to your Dad's."

"And what'll you do?"

"I can always volunteer to help at the 23rd Street Mission - they always need help - and then you and I can have our Christmas party on the 26th."

"I don't like it, Chief. I know, you'll be doing something kind and generous, and I'd be happy to go to the Mission along with you - but not on Christmas Day. I want to be with my chosen brother on Christmas Day... "

"Okay - we'll both go to the Mission in the morning, and you can go from there to your Dad's while I stay on a bit longer. Really, Jim - I don't mind."

***

Later that evening, Jim headed off for a shower. A few minutes later, the phone rang.

Blair reached over. "Blair Sandburg."

"Is Jim there?"

"Mr. Ellison? Jim's just gone for a shower."

"Good - I was hoping to speak to you without Jim there. Did he tell you about the party I'm planning for Christmas Day?"

"Yes."

"Well... I don't know if you have any plans... and I don't want to pressure you... but I'd be very happy if you came with Jim. I know how much you've done for him, I know how much you've been pushing him to - well, start speaking to me again. But I was afraid that if I said anything to Jim, he'd insist you abandoned any family plans you might have to come here with him."

Blair smiled. "I'll be happy to come," he said. "I've no family plans - my Mom's somewhere in Nepal and won't be back until February. Jim knows the details of when to come? See you then - and thanks!"

He hung up, already deciding what he could take as a gift for William.

 


End file.
